Book Notes

BookCon launch PLUS Gordie Howe in print

capecodtimes.com

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Posted Apr. 6, 2014 at 2:00 AM

Posted Apr. 6, 2014 at 2:00 AM

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BOOKCON LAUNCHES

The organizers of New York Comic Con, ReedPOP, have announced they will launch BookCon during BookExpo America. The "massive pop culture" event will feature author John Grisham, actress-author Amy Poehler and other well-known guests. BookCon will be open to the general public and take place May 31 at the Javits Center. It will include panel discussions, podcasts, interviews and trivia contests. "We want to bottle some of that energy from Comic Con and use it for the book world," says Lance Fensterman, global senior vice president for ReedPOP and a former show manager of BookExpo. "We want to get to 10,000 fans this year; that would be a success," says Fensterman, who noted that New York Comic Con drew more than 100,000 fans in 2013.

HOCKEY ICON GORDIE HOWE REMEMBERS

Hockey great Gordie Howe has a book deal. "Mr. Hockey," will come out Oct. 14. The publisher says the book will be "the definitive account" of Howe's life, starting with his birth in a farmhouse in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and delving into his extraordinary five-decade career. The 85-year-old Howe was a six-time winner of the Hart Trophy for the league's most valuable player.

PLAY BALL

Opening Day brings a fresh crop of new books about baseball.

"A Nice Little Place on the North Side: Wrigley Field at One Hundred" (Crown Archetype) by George F. Will is the columnist and Cubs fan's paean to the beloved ball field as well as a look at its place in Chicago history.

"1954: The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever" (Da Capo) by Bill Madden goes deep into the interrelated histories of baseball and civil rights.

"Pete Rose: An American Dilemma" (Sports Illustrated Books) by Kostya Kennedy is an intriguing reassessment of the complex life and career of "Charlie Hustle," probably the most polarizing player in the history of the game.